If Veterans Ruled the World | Starship Troopers

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  • Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
  • The Starship Troopers movie has long been accused of being an unfaithful adaptation of the book, but its politics match the sci-fi military classic more closely than you may realize.
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    Thanks to AlternateHistoryHub for helping spread propaganda.
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    Thanks to Not Just Bikes for reading semi-fascist quotes.
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    ---
    Books
    Starship Troopers (1959) by Robert Heinlein
    amzn.to/3DT21FK
    The Forever War (1974) by Joe Haldeman
    amzn.to/3jcWr9h
    Movies and TV
    Starship Troopers (1997) - amzn.to/3vvfTCX
    Director's Commentary by Paul Verhoeven and Ed Neumeier (DVD/Bluray Extra)
    Cast Commentary by Paul Verhoeven, Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, and Neil Patrick Harris (DVD/Bluray Extra)
    Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) - amzn.to/3lZt2Bj
    Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) - amzn.to/3FXNESf
    Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) - amzn.to/3BUOiO0
    Starship Troopers: Traider of Mars (2017) - amzn.to/3AN1KlG
    Starship Troopers OVA (1988) - archive.org/details/starship-...
    UA-cam Videos
    'Starship Troopers' Q&A | Paul Verhoeven & Casper Van Dien - • 'Starship Troopers' Q&...
    Starship Troopers, Lost in Adaptation ~ The Dom - • Video
    The Politics of Starship Troopers - • The Politics of Starsh...
    Websites
    1lib.us/book/1515848/bd0410?i...
    theportalist.com/joe-haldeman...
    ---
    Video Credits -
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    ---
    Produced with the assistance of Rozarah
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    Researched with the assistance of Jesspsettle
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    Intro/Outro and Background Music by Michael Cotten/Nomad
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    ---
    Hashtags: #starshiptroopers #sciencefiction #politics #veterans #literature #books #scifi #infantry #army #military #veteran #citizen
    0:00 Intro
    1:16 Movie
    17:52 Book
    43:01 Author
    54:44 Legacy
    ---
    This video was sponsored by CuriosityStream and Nebula.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 13 тис.

  • @KnowingBetter
    @KnowingBetter  2 роки тому +2184

    Be sure to check out the Director's Commentary on Twitch tomorrow - twitch.tv/knowingbetteryt
    Starcraft was inspired by Warhammer 40k, which itself was inspired by Starship Troopers. It's Starship Troopers all the way down.

    • @jacobsocknesssucks5277
      @jacobsocknesssucks5277 2 роки тому +8

      First

    • @adi6293
      @adi6293 2 роки тому +22

      I'm loving the outfit 😜

    • @indigo22284
      @indigo22284 2 роки тому +2

      DANNG!! Ten (10) extra minutes?! For real? Hmmmm ...

    • @look-ma-no-handle
      @look-ma-no-handle 2 роки тому +6

      @@indigo22284 I personally love Nebula and yes I can confirm the runtime on the Nebula version is 1:08:06

    • @Ugly_German_Truths
      @Ugly_German_Truths 2 роки тому +11

      There might be a third option, KB ... Rascaki was originally detached from the military to teach as some sort of RR for his injury as he was't fully able to serve in a normal billet but was not yet out of his signed time... and when the semester ended he returned to some training post or fleet unit bringing him away from Buenos Aires.

  • @MichieHoward
    @MichieHoward 2 роки тому +9298

    Alternate title to this video; *This most anti-war anti-authoritarian movie ever produced inspired me somehow to join the military.*

    • @DailyLifeSolution
      @DailyLifeSolution 2 роки тому +216

      Please wath Sargon of Akkad's video on the same movie.

    • @angeleyes2c
      @angeleyes2c 2 роки тому +1176

      @@DailyLifeSolution Don't. It's full of problematic interpretations and false dichotomies. Plus it's boring.

    • @DailyLifeSolution
      @DailyLifeSolution 2 роки тому +133

      @@angeleyes2c I watched it before recommending it.

    • @angeleyes2c
      @angeleyes2c 2 роки тому +893

      @@DailyLifeSolution Oh, of course that makes a lot of difference. Now it's totally not full of falsehoods and boring.

    • @DailyLifeSolution
      @DailyLifeSolution 2 роки тому +228

      @@angeleyes2c What is your peoblem? Can people not recommend a video? Can people not watch a video and come to a conclusion by themselves?

  • @jessew5152
    @jessew5152 2 роки тому +805

    Fun fact about the shower scene, the actors agreed to do it only if the director and camera crew were also naked.

    • @maxxcarver5502
      @maxxcarver5502 Рік тому +81

      That's actually Awesome!

    • @id2609
      @id2609 Рік тому +236

      'I'm doing my part!'

    • @WBMSS
      @WBMSS Рік тому +12

      This mini-thread is Great! Rah.

    • @KickyFut
      @KickyFut Рік тому +27

      It's only fair!😂

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 11 місяців тому +30

      Not so fun fact, same sex shower in military is not that sexy, you are to tired to "enjoy" it....and she look like she want to sleep (as in rest, not sex)

  • @1986fritzthecat
    @1986fritzthecat 9 місяців тому +521

    starship troopers 2 has the best directors commentary quote which (its been a couple decades) but was something along the lines of "our budget was 2$ and we spent 1.5$ on the bus ride to the studio"

    • @A_Steam_User
      @A_Steam_User 3 місяці тому +6

      THERE IS A SECOND?!?!?!?!

    • @bullettime001
      @bullettime001 3 місяці тому +9

      ​@@A_Steam_User There are 3 live actions movie and 3 CG movies

    • @A_Steam_User
      @A_Steam_User 3 місяці тому

      @@bullettime001 dang

    • @EvaOwnsAll
      @EvaOwnsAll 3 місяці тому +2

      I can only suggest the first movie lol...

    • @kartaltoth684
      @kartaltoth684 3 місяці тому

      @@EvaOwnsAll the CG ones are perfectly alright.

  • @Rukhage
    @Rukhage 3 місяці тому +599

    Be prepared for the deluge of Helldivers 2 players coming here to get more info.
    A real life "Do You Want To Know More" moment.

    • @Nagrachlp
      @Nagrachlp 3 місяці тому +9

      know better :p

    • @bboi1489
      @bboi1489 3 місяці тому +2

      Helldivers is a ST game!?@?@?!?@?@,@

    • @tVt2000
      @tVt2000 2 місяці тому +24

      @@bboi1489no just heavily inspired. Like insanely inspired, like they just threw green paint and robots and jellyfish everywhere else and added cooler terminology

    • @SeraphCyan
      @SeraphCyan 2 місяці тому +2

      yeah I can say it inspired me to watch this video for the second time lmao

    • @PhucYueh
      @PhucYueh 2 місяці тому

      No, obviously. Its style is heavily based on what the movie of starship troopers, namely what it was trying and honestly failing to satirize.​@@bboi1489

  • @Leitis_Fella
    @Leitis_Fella 2 роки тому +5320

    The part about a crime surge being caused by unspanked juvenile brigands was absolutely hilarious

    • @TonyGonzales
      @TonyGonzales 2 роки тому +348

      That's a paddling.

    • @jpotter2086
      @jpotter2086 2 роки тому +765

      It was a VERY common conservative meme in the 20th century. It was a controversial topic from the 1950s to the 1990s, and there was a sea change in cultural attitudes and expert advice over that span. And yet, it is STILL common to hear this idiotic meme, when people grouse about kids being out of control cause their parents are "soft".

    • @owenbunny4023
      @owenbunny4023 2 роки тому +465

      @KKK Revolution literally the meme. upgrade, upgrade. oh shit. go back go back

    • @vladstefan5216
      @vladstefan5216 2 роки тому +563

      A very accurate and objective observation @KKK Revolution . I am sure no personal beliefs and opinions swayed that analysis of our modern times.

    • @damonroberts7372
      @damonroberts7372 2 роки тому +48

      Intentional. Heinlein had a sense of humour.

  • @matthewmcneany
    @matthewmcneany 2 роки тому +821

    "They get into a fight in the shower and agree to mutually respect each other" - not a euphemism.

    • @gorsching
      @gorsching 2 роки тому +95

      Don't forget that Rico loses the fight. That's the best part. It's not till after he gets beat up that he's respected

    • @commonpepe2270
      @commonpepe2270 2 роки тому +71

      I'm sure there is a porno out there with that exact plot.

    • @Yertle_Turtle
      @Yertle_Turtle 2 роки тому +56

      @@commonpepe2270 what happens in the shower stays in the shower.

    • @carlossaraiva8213
      @carlossaraiva8213 2 роки тому +33

      A rightwinger of the 50s inadvertedly going full gay was a common occurence. There is a strong correlation between repressed homosexuality and conservatism.

    • @TheSodiumazide
      @TheSodiumazide 2 роки тому +56

      @@carlossaraiva8213 Heinlein wasn't a conservative as you or I would use the term. He supported socialist Upton Sinclair in his bid for california governor. He certainly wasn't gay but he was a swinger and was very libertine personally despite holding alot of conservative positions on sex. However it wasn't repression it was more a "public vs private" thing.

  • @Baldwin-iv445
    @Baldwin-iv445 4 місяці тому +205

    My personal theory for Rasczak going from teacher to soldier again is that he wasn't actually retired, just in reserve, and was called to active duty after the bug rock strike, which he survived since he went on vacation for the school summer.

    • @cucu_cucumber
      @cucu_cucumber 3 місяці тому +32

      When at the graduation party he mentions Rico has to be quick speaking to him and then leaves, its implied he went to rejoin up in that moment.

    • @oldmonkeysmeg12
      @oldmonkeysmeg12 Місяць тому +1

      That’s pretty much every military contract, I’m in the reserve list until I’m 55

    • @oldmonkeysmeg12
      @oldmonkeysmeg12 Місяць тому

      @@cucu_cucumberwhy would he rejoin almost a year before the bug meteor attack?

    • @cucu_cucumber
      @cucu_cucumber Місяць тому

      @@oldmonkeysmeg12 Because there's obviously no gap in what the military and public is aware of, right? Think about it.

  • @Shimotivater
    @Shimotivater 8 місяців тому +224

    The "Come on you apes, you wanna live forever?" line is actually a real famous military quote. Sgt. Maj Dan Daly was leading a charge against German machine gun bunkers when he said "Come on you sons of bitches, do you wanna live forever?". He had already received two medals of honor prior to this event.

    • @harbl99
      @harbl99 7 місяців тому +22

      This is the guy where Congress changed the rules so he couldn't have a _third_ MOH. Fat Electrician does an excellent potted biography of him; it's funny, informative, and well told.

    • @matthewsilfer2010
      @matthewsilfer2010 7 місяців тому +5

      I made sure to scroll to check if someone commented this lol

    • @GTGibbs
      @GTGibbs 3 місяці тому +5

      This is the incident that prompted the “No 3 MOH’s Dan Daly was a Stud. Chesty who? LOL

    • @user-dv6im5vf7h
      @user-dv6im5vf7h 3 місяці тому +1

      It comes from Fredrick the great at the battle of kolin

  • @renard6012
    @renard6012 Рік тому +1580

    One of the most meaningful scenes was deleted from the movie: If I remember correctly, Rico finds the legless recruiter outside work, using some prosthetics that let him walk normally. He says everything is an act meant to discourage people from joining the military: If they are truly committed, they will see this mutilated man and still join regardless.

    • @caitlinb
      @caitlinb Рік тому +250

      When you realize all the teachers and most adults have extensive permanent injuries...

    • @TitusCastiglione1503
      @TitusCastiglione1503 Рік тому +186

      @@caitlinb That’s cause war sucks. People lose limbs and crap. They seem to take better care of their vets than we do…

    • @electricfeverx976
      @electricfeverx976 Рік тому

      @@TitusCastiglione1503 it's kinda sad that the war mongering government of Starship Troopers has more respect for the men and women they knowingly throw at the meat grinder than most nations today do.

    • @notNajimi
      @notNajimi Рік тому +247

      @@TitusCastiglione1503 that’s somehow the most fantastical element of the work, that disabled veterans would be able to get jobs

    • @TitusCastiglione1503
      @TitusCastiglione1503 Рік тому +22

      @@notNajimi lol

  • @therealuncleowen2588
    @therealuncleowen2588 Рік тому +1518

    I think the book Jarhead described it best. No matter how anti-war a movie might be, young men will still be inspired by it, missing or dismissing the deeper message while humming along to Ride of the Valkyries.

    • @salt_factory7566
      @salt_factory7566 Рік тому +133

      I can definitely see that point. When I was in my senior year of high school, my parents fought me tooth and nail not to enlist. They showed me every anti war movie imaginable. My response was effectively “That looks miserable, but someone’s got to do it. And I don’t see anyone else around willing to make a sacrifice.” It was Motarded beyond all compare, but I still partially admire my old naive enthusiasm. I’d probably be doing far worse off without the military anyway.

    • @fullmetaljoker666
      @fullmetaljoker666 Рік тому +72

      The movie full metal jacket is what got me to enlist in the Marine Corps

    • @salt_factory7566
      @salt_factory7566 Рік тому +82

      @@fullmetaljoker666 I think every Marine currently serving has seen full metal jacket before they joined.

    • @butterflymage5623
      @butterflymage5623 Рік тому +7

      @@salt_factory7566 bruh, same. 😂

    • @DPham1
      @DPham1 Рік тому +81

      Young men want to be a part of something bigger than themselves that taps into that warrior spirit. It's an impulse as old as time. That's also why young men without fathers in their lives can end up joining gangs.

  • @amdinga561
    @amdinga561 3 місяці тому +84

    One thing I missed til now is revealed w/ Rico's answer on the difference between civilian and a citizen: "A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politik."
    Humans are the same as the bugs. We have a worker class and a soldier class, and it's the soldier class's highest aspiration to die, unquestioning, for the hive.

    • @SirKickBan
      @SirKickBan 3 місяці тому +33

      It's also notable that, visually speaking, when the MIs and the bugs meet in battle they're both depicted as two giant, unorganized swarms running into melee combat with eachother.

    • @Erduk
      @Erduk Місяць тому

      Wow, that is a total mischaracterization of the MI and Citizenship. You have to VOLUNTEER to join. Rico could easily have chosen to be a rich businessman's son and that's all. But the Federation believed that something earned was something treasured and so if worthless maggotbrains like you want to exercise force over me you have to at least learn something first.

    • @MrSirwolf2001
      @MrSirwolf2001 23 дні тому +1

      Our soldiers' highest aspiration is to keep their hive safe from all of the other hives by either discouraging the attack in the first place or making the other poor bastard die for his hive.

  • @hugos2192
    @hugos2192 3 місяці тому +56

    Here because I started playing helldivers 2, which led me to re-watch Starship Troopers, which reminded me why I liked so much Verhoeven's movie. Thank you for this video, it was very interesting to get an insight of the book.

  • @AlternateHistoryHub
    @AlternateHistoryHub 2 роки тому +8465

    That voice sounds familiar. Fantastic video! I'm so glad to have been apart of it.

    • @SlashinatorZ
      @SlashinatorZ 2 роки тому +185

      Starship troopers is a Warhammer movie

    • @readjordan2257
      @readjordan2257 2 роки тому +33

      We love it when you voice act in these

    • @readjordan2257
      @readjordan2257 2 роки тому +13

      @@Bolognamonster General Malcom Granger up in here tryna recruit us to the Electronic Arts Empire

    • @alexlaza5301
      @alexlaza5301 2 роки тому +52

      ​@@SlashinatorZ And just like Warhammer 40k, many satires and dark humor of the Starship Trooper movie has been understood as some positive messages by many...

    • @29wildfire55
      @29wildfire55 2 роки тому +4

      It was you! You sounded so familiar I just couldn't quite place it

  • @flameblade5127
    @flameblade5127 2 роки тому +1385

    KB: “I want to stop making hour long videos and get back to 20-30 minutes”
    Also KB: makes every video exactly 1 hour

    • @seandawson5899
      @seandawson5899 2 роки тому +68

      I live for the hour long videos.

    • @SpecialEDy
      @SpecialEDy 2 роки тому +33

      Wrong, it's 13 seconds less than a hour.

    • @Ugly_German_Truths
      @Ugly_German_Truths 2 роки тому +20

      Well it's 30 mins about the movie and 30 mins about the very different book so... goal accomplished!

    • @FOSsiiLz
      @FOSsiiLz 2 роки тому +6

      And I hope he keeps it up!

    • @ratoh1710
      @ratoh1710 2 роки тому +7

      Don't tempt him or the next one might be feature length

  • @GasMaskTrenchCoat
    @GasMaskTrenchCoat 7 місяців тому +184

    Something I never see in discussions of this book is the part where Rico tells us that soldiers receive briefings for their missions subliminally in their sleep from transmitters and speakers under their pillows. Also, while patrolling Planet P waiting for the bugs, soldiers take naps in the field in response to hypnotic suggestion, whether they want to or not. Rico tries to refuse taking a nap himself when he is informed that he just woke up and had been asleep for hours without him realizing it.
    Its never implied that this could be a bad thing in the book, but to me the implications are downright sinister. Soldiers with power armor and portable nukes can be brainwashed in their sleep and hypnotized to do things without them realizing it in response to a trigger phrase. And whose to say civilians are exempt?
    Maybe that's why there haven't been any revolts.
    Edit: I just recently finished The Forever War, and there are several similarities between them, one of which I noted in particular is that in the Forever War, the soldiers are hypnotized to be brutally ruthless in combat against their enemy (even though they didn't even know what they looked like at the time) and are activated with a trigger phrase.

    • @JohnE9999
      @JohnE9999 4 місяці тому +9

      That is a lie. Every trooper just has to say, I don't want to go, and he doesn't have to. He'll never be a citizen, but he won't be otherwiise punished. You lied and failed.

    • @bobjoned3398
      @bobjoned3398 3 місяці тому +4

      Great book!!

    • @gorymarty56
      @gorymarty56 3 місяці тому +5

      Loved that book

    • @malum9478
      @malum9478 3 місяці тому +6

      @@JohnE9999 get a fuckin grip, dude.

    • @pougetguillaume4632
      @pougetguillaume4632 3 місяці тому +9

      ​@@JohnE9999"i respect your opinion but if you disagree with me i'll strip you of your rights then find someone else who agrees"
      How very kind of them, truly. How could this ever be interpreted as a form of fascism?
      At least in their grand magnanimity, the federation allows you to live. which is the absolute barest minimum if you ask me but who am i to judge _shrugs_

  • @Annathroy
    @Annathroy 7 місяців тому +61

    Michael Ironside's voice is damn good and fits the movie perfectly aswell

    • @HouseholdDog
      @HouseholdDog 3 місяці тому +4

      This kind of character is what he does best.

    • @iitsCarml
      @iitsCarml Місяць тому

      Sam Fisher my beloved ❤

  • @day2148
    @day2148 11 місяців тому +931

    12:37 Actually Rasczak's presence is easily explanation as you're ignoring the 3rd option: Rasczak, for whatever reason, was away from Buenos Aires when the meteor hit, saw his family get smushed, and decided to re-enroll in the military out of anger. The movie even hinted at this potentiality when Rico discusses why Rasczak never smiles anymore.

    • @kylebenjamin2356
      @kylebenjamin2356 9 місяців тому +30

      School would have just been getting out at that time

    • @tyrant-den884
      @tyrant-den884 8 місяців тому +33

      or the movie itself is propaganda within its own universe.

    • @dominickstewart433
      @dominickstewart433 8 місяців тому

      True they all graduated@@kylebenjamin2356

    • @TheMonk72
      @TheMonk72 7 місяців тому +14

      In the book Johnny's mother was visiting BA when the attack hit. He thought both his parents were there, actually. Lt Col Dubois was alive and well and we hear from him later in the story... because Johnny's home town was NOT BA.

    • @dansimmons8107
      @dansimmons8107 7 місяців тому +8

      Right. Weren't they from the Philippines?

  • @kirkdarling4120
    @kirkdarling4120 2 роки тому +551

    In the book, Zim gives Rico something to bite down on during his lashing with the clear implication that Zim himself had also suffered a lashing early in his own career.

    • @8G00SE8
      @8G00SE8 2 роки тому +134

      That's in the movie too, he says "It helps, I know".

    • @wiretamer5710
      @wiretamer5710 2 роки тому +28

      That is made very clear in the movie too.

    • @mattmarzula
      @mattmarzula 2 роки тому +6

      Gee... I wonder if it's also in the movie?

    • @Nogardtist
      @Nogardtist Рік тому

      @@mattmarzula it is i remember it but he eventually drops it after few hits

    • @Skywarslord
      @Skywarslord Рік тому +1

      I get the feeling that it might also be in the movie…

  • @ryangordon5986
    @ryangordon5986 6 місяців тому +105

    Sir Arthur Currie was a highly successful general during WW1. He was the commander of the Canadian Corps. Interesting that the training base in the novel is named after him.

    • @user-yp6vy1oq5d
      @user-yp6vy1oq5d 3 місяці тому +1

      @@privatecitizen5968Well, served as a desk jockey and then got the boot due to health problems. Suppose he never got over the fact he didn't get to earn any shiny medals.

    • @709mash
      @709mash 3 місяці тому +2

      And Canada was one of the most successful fighting forces on the western front. They're also responsible for many of the articles in the Geneva convention. The no prisoners rule is one that comes to mind.

    • @JJMain
      @JJMain 3 місяці тому +5

      It is an actual place, no longer a base but still a military installation. I've done training there, so weird to see it mentioned here.

  • @johnshaffer3405
    @johnshaffer3405 4 місяці тому +60

    If I remember the book correctly federal service doesn't just include being in the military. It is also common for folks in universe to volunteer as medical test subjects for two years to test out various treatments and medications as their federal service.

    • @omridanziger992
      @omridanziger992 3 місяці тому +6

      Yea it was clear in the book. Rico was worried they'd be the only option for him in the military.

    • @Kodaiva
      @Kodaiva 3 місяці тому +1

      they also arent forced to serve too

    • @Ronfost89
      @Ronfost89 2 місяці тому +3

      The book is quite different. You could become a citizen through several methods of service, it was just military was the fastest guaranteed way to do so. The whole thing was about Rico learning to make his own decisions. The irony in it is he was fighting a race of legit fascist bugs that were actively enslaving and conquering other alien races. Even the movie doesn't do a good job at making humans that "bad" or "fascist". The bugs literally attacked Earth and have killed humans before that, I don't think responding to that with military force is exactly fascist.

    • @NaturesFlame
      @NaturesFlame Місяць тому

      ​@@Ronfost89 which is why that wasn't the point they were trying to make. The directors didn't say "defending yourself is fascist", they said "War makes fascists of us all".

    • @Ronfost89
      @Ronfost89 Місяць тому +4

      @@NaturesFlame Not really considering the portrayal of society throughout the film before the war starts. He was saying "here is why a fascist nation is bad" but proceeded to show 0 fascism. I enjoy the movie but Verhoeven failed at even showing a single fascist like thing.

  • @CocoHutzpah
    @CocoHutzpah 2 роки тому +518

    It's amusing that the mobile infantry of the book are heavy inspiration for Warhammer 40k Space Marines (and if you go back to Rogue Trader, even more so) yet the movie turned the mobile infantry into the Imperial Guard.

    • @Vitross
      @Vitross 2 роки тому +97

      Well to be fair, it was far too expensive for the movie to show the MI as mech troopers, so they had to show them as regular soldiers.

    • @jizburg
      @jizburg 2 роки тому +74

      @@Vitross yea. And with 90s CGI those mec troopers would have looked horrendus and plasticy, better thag they fokused on the bugs because chitine looks plasticy and shiny in real life.

    • @chrismills7703
      @chrismills7703 2 роки тому +84

      Seems like the book made them like super soldiers but the movie wanted to make clear they were expendable cogs in the machine, with cheap flimsy mass-produced armor and weapons

    • @JohnTrustworthy
      @JohnTrustworthy 2 роки тому +16

      The movie turned the MI into a random PDF.
      The Morita rifle didn't even have iron sights.

    • @loonyt22
      @loonyt22 2 роки тому +11

      IIRC, the book's mobile infantry had standard tactics of using those jump suits to go high enough so they could throw mininukes onto the battlefield, quite a world different from the movie.

  • @paranoiawilldestroyya3238
    @paranoiawilldestroyya3238 2 роки тому +2547

    I took my son to see "Starship Troopers", but was kind of concerned about the R rating. I asked a theater employee about he reason for the rating. She said there was a shower scene in the movie with some nudity. I was okay with that; everyone has seen a naked body, and most will see at least one of each sex. She didn't say anything about people being ripped in half; I think we have become far to inured to violence and too sensitive to natural human reproductive functions.

    • @deathstrike
      @deathstrike 2 роки тому +29

      Look what is on the news virtually every single day? Shooting here, mass shooting there, drive by there as well. When does the media start realizing THEY are the problem? They sensationalize every single thing that will get them those sweet sweet ratings.
      Meanwhile our youth are virtually bathed in explicit sex and violent. I agree with you we will all see a naked body of same and opposite gender so that isn't such a big deal.
      But the gist of Starship Troopers is that their century has virtually no poverty, little crime (due in part to SEVERE punishment for all crimes) and a quality of life that seems quite good. I'm not saying a military government is the answer, but it certainly is both a book and the movie that provokes critical thinking and a "what if" style of presenting radical ideas.

    • @occam7382
      @occam7382 2 роки тому +147

      @@deathstrike, I mean, this is also a movie whose main protagonists are primarily upper- and middle-class people, it's very likely that there is quite a bit of poverty in the UCF, and we just don't see it, becuase that's not the focus.

    • @ROSHing1
      @ROSHing1 2 роки тому +40

      ^didn't read the book

    • @endorsedbryce
      @endorsedbryce 2 роки тому +253

      Even as a kid it was always immensely confusing to me that sex, a typically positive thing was shunned while violence, an inherently negative, thing was glorified.

    • @Mario_Angel_Medina
      @Mario_Angel_Medina 2 роки тому +32

      The battle of Klendathu let me very disturb the first time I watched it back when I was 9 or 10 years old (specially because I had already watched the CGI cartoon some time prior... I was used to live-action films being more gory and sexual that their cartoon counterparts, but a hand blasted by shotgun fire is a thing, being dismembered alive by razor-sharp claws is on a totally differente level)

  • @Violaphobia
    @Violaphobia 2 місяці тому +9

    I don’t want to accuse Heinlein of not thinking too hard about the Sci-Fi part of his story, but if women have faster reflexes and can also use power armor then they should absolutely be in the mobile infantry

  • @709mash
    @709mash 3 місяці тому +74

    Who's back here after playing Helldivers 2?

    • @Facade13
      @Facade13 3 місяці тому +11

      watched the movie for the first time after playing the game and I appreciate both a lot more now

    • @armorhide406
      @armorhide406 2 місяці тому

      How many I wonder don't get that Helldivers is satire

    • @Thegreatercheese
      @Thegreatercheese 2 місяці тому +1

      I don't really think it's satire in the same way the Starship Troopers movie was. It's more of a pastiche of the film that uses the same style as set dressing because the moment to moment gameplay isn't really satirising anything.

    • @sksthrowaway2270
      @sksthrowaway2270 2 місяці тому

      @@Thegreatercheeseeh, I’d say the number of idiotic friendly fire incidents you’re liable to go through every game and the sheer disposability of these so-called “elite forces” satirizes how fascist regimes are inefficient and ultimately treat everyone as disposable regardless of how “elite” or “pure” they’re claimed to be

  • @davidgrinnell9945
    @davidgrinnell9945 2 роки тому +890

    11:00 actually a common tactic throughout history is to send your weaker units in first to "absorb or soften the enemy" before sending in your stronger units to finish off the rest.

    • @Zaichata
      @Zaichata 2 роки тому +222

      It's also a way to recon the enemy's capabilities without risking your stronger units. Not to mention that if you send the best of the best and they get crushed while the rookies are sitting on the bench, the new guys are probably not going to have the best morale going in if they go in at all. That was a part of the reason why Rome's manipular system was categorized by experience, with the Velites, Hastati, Principes and Triarii.

    • @Nepomniachtchi_Austin
      @Nepomniachtchi_Austin 2 роки тому +51

      True and mostly with disciplinary units even as far back as ancient times. I think the last major case of this happening was with the Red Army during WWII. Go forward and die to the Germans or retreat and be killed by the Russians.

    • @derianvandalsen
      @derianvandalsen 2 роки тому +40

      Also, if any of the first wave survive they have been blooded and can be expected to bring back that experience

    • @MA_KA_PA_TIE
      @MA_KA_PA_TIE 2 роки тому +17

      @@Nepomniachtchi_Austin id say the Chinese in the Korean war just sending waves and waves of men to the point claymore mines were invented is not too far off.

    • @inquisitorsteele8397
      @inquisitorsteele8397 2 роки тому +48

      @@MA_KA_PA_TIE Not quite though. PLA's during korean war usually relied on series of short attacks conduct by small infiltration squads rather than mass human wave charge though. At least until one of the squad identified weak points in the line before send in entire regiment or to overrun the said weak point en mass.

  • @johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid
    @johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid 2 роки тому +539

    The football analogy really isn't all that complicated, friend.
    The ball is the bomb, and the endzone is the bug's gaping turd-cutter.
    Touchdown Buenos Aires

    • @wtrdawnlord
      @wtrdawnlord 2 роки тому +15

      It's a bit of a stretch to get there though. Rico never had to jump on top of a big thrashing beast and blast a hole in it's armor at point blank range with an automatic weapon to be able to make a 1 yard pass into the hole for the touchdown.

    • @SporeFreak2010
      @SporeFreak2010 2 роки тому +2

      🤣

    • @Sheridan2LT
      @Sheridan2LT 2 роки тому +15

      @@wtrdawnlord It's not literal, the character is portrayed as an idiot.

    • @Sheridan2LT
      @Sheridan2LT 2 роки тому +1

      Yeah he wasn't being literal lol.

    • @darkcoeficient
      @darkcoeficient 2 роки тому +3

      @@wtrdawnlord Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

  • @viktoriaalden3452
    @viktoriaalden3452 2 місяці тому +3

    Have you ever had that phase where you thought that everyone having the same philosophy as yourself would improve things so greatly for everyone? It feels like this book is the result of Heinlein having a phase like that...

  • @dsimpson530
    @dsimpson530 9 місяців тому +11

    I was also in middle school when it came out in theaters. I specifically remember the movie Dark City was in the trailers ahead of the movie.
    I also remember Blur's "Song 2" was used in the TV ads for the movie.
    Still one of my personal favorites.

  • @AdrianMartinez-gq7ne
    @AdrianMartinez-gq7ne 2 роки тому +347

    The "You want to live forever?" quote comes from Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Daly of the US Marine Corps, who was trying to spur on his company during an almost suicidal attack on German-held hill in the battle of Belleau Wood in WWI (he earned the Navy Cross from that battle).

    • @dkroll92
      @dkroll92 2 роки тому +34

      Frederick the Great supposedly said it in 1757. Maybe Daly was quoting/referencing him?

    • @georgf9279
      @georgf9279 2 роки тому +23

      But it was "Come on you sons of b*tches! Do you wanna live forever?"

    • @jacobnormann6678
      @jacobnormann6678 2 роки тому +3

      6th Marine regiment, let’s fucking go

    • @erraticonteuse
      @erraticonteuse 2 роки тому +31

      @@dkroll92 It's a pretty common theme in military expression. Oda Nobunaga also (supposedly) said something similar 200 years before Frederick the Great did, and it is pretty unlikely he'd have even heard of Oda. Though it's incredibly likely that Daly had heard of Frederick the Great and his quote.

    • @dirtyoldman3
      @dirtyoldman3 2 роки тому

      This is a myth

  • @justwatchinvideos4559
    @justwatchinvideos4559 2 роки тому +318

    What I remember from the book about the K9 unit was that the handler and the animal became so attached to one another, due to the fact that it was usually the handlers own dog and the physic implants, that if the animal were to die in combat/recon, the handler would soon follow due to a mental breakdown.

    • @hossep2695
      @hossep2695 2 роки тому +67

      If the handler dies, they kill the dog to spare it. If the dog dies, they put the handler through months of rehab and therapy, because they're not allowed to kill them, even though it would be more humane.

    • @Rileylego-fq6wc
      @Rileylego-fq6wc 2 роки тому +20

      In the book WWZ when the dogs died handlers would try to save them from zombies and they would just be let go to die trying to save their dog.

  • @johnwoods7730
    @johnwoods7730 6 місяців тому +142

    I was an eleven year Navy veteran and spent seven weeks in a Greek prison on Rhodes during the '74 Cyprus war. The movie was excellent even if it was actually from the book by Robert Heinlein. I must still give you an 'A' for effort. Very good analysis.

    • @user-cq6fk5go3s
      @user-cq6fk5go3s 5 місяців тому +12

      The only thing this movie and the book have in common is the title and character names.

    • @dannyhernandez1212
      @dannyhernandez1212 3 місяці тому

      Have you the book Armor by John Steakley?

    • @bend1707
      @bend1707 3 місяці тому

      @@dannyhernandez1212absolutely phenomenal book

    • @SamuraiBonesie
      @SamuraiBonesie 2 місяці тому +1

      The only Warzone I’ve ever seen still fully scarred (as an American) was the Cyprus/N.Cyprus border. I hope you didn’t experience the worst of it.

  • @unwarranted657
    @unwarranted657 7 місяців тому +72

    The U.S.A was taking part in several wars during 1997.
    The afgan civil war, the nepalese civil war, the somali civil war, the iraqi-kurdish war/conflict all took place during that year.

    • @malum9478
      @malum9478 3 місяці тому +16

      "taking part in" and "actually dropping in" are two different things.
      plus dude was in character, he was being facetious.

    • @robyee3325
      @robyee3325 3 місяці тому

      @@malum9478he sounds like an idiot easily brainwashed by war propaganda. The fact that he was obsessed with this movie and still enlisted kind of proves the point. The whole point of the movie was to show how stupid these people are and why you do not want veterans to run society

    • @gunnarjames4248
      @gunnarjames4248 3 місяці тому +7

      We stopped caring about the Afghan civil war when the Russians left in the 80s, and we stopped caring about the Iraqi-Kurdish war after the Iran-Iraq war; also in the 80s, and after Desert Storm, which took place in the early 90s, not ‘97..

  • @gaillewis5472
    @gaillewis5472 2 роки тому +483

    When this movie came out, a friend of mine who read the book (now a pandemic shut-in) suggested we see it. I thought the propaganda satire was hilarious. It's scary how advertisement for both consumer goods and the military look like this now. Every once in a while, I'll hang out with my sister and while watching TV and she'll whisper, "Do you want to know more?" We both crack up.

    • @davidanderson_surrey_bc
      @davidanderson_surrey_bc Рік тому +16

      How many times have you been watching a UA-cam video when an ad video interrupts -- and at its end there's a button you can click on to "learn more".

    • @fnhatic6694
      @fnhatic6694 Рік тому +10

      Advertisements for the military are about gay sex now, dude.

    • @pyropulseIXXI
      @pyropulseIXXI Рік тому +7

      It isn't satire, despite if the director intended that. Starship Troopers genuinely shows the virtues of such a society and how it is a good thing. People twisting that into it supporting terrible wars don't understand.
      Also, propaganda can be a good thing

    • @ultra-papasmurf
      @ultra-papasmurf Рік тому +6

      @@pyropulseIXXI ok buddy

    • @robdeskrd
      @robdeskrd Рік тому +2

      @@pyropulseIXXI
      I read the book & I saw the movie, that movie was satire almost entirely unrelated to the book.... and proper-gander ain't even good for ganders let alone people!

  • @FranTRf
    @FranTRf 2 роки тому +1009

    As someone from Argentina, some insight about the blonde blue eyed person in Buenos Aires: that's actually not quite uncommon here.
    Due to being a port city, the number of immigrants that arrived here was HUGE, more so around World Wart 2 and shortly after. Lots of ukrainian, polish, Italian, Spanish, swedish, french... Lots of small hubs for each country formed in Buenos Aires and not all of them ended up mixing with the local populace, hence the spectrum of skin color in Argentina is HUGE.

    • @lucascoval828
      @lucascoval828 2 роки тому +48

      Based.

    • @Marksman3434
      @Marksman3434 2 роки тому +174

      It's kinda funny how so many people kinda overlook the idea that Latin America is composed also of European immigrants that arrived less than a couple of generations ago that can also be white, blue-eyed blondes. I'm from Venezuela, and this spectrum you mention also happens there, though I'd say there's a lot more mixing than in Argentina, and the lighter-skinned people tend to have settled more in the main cities too, not so much the rural areas.

    • @baronofbahlingen9662
      @baronofbahlingen9662 2 роки тому +141

      I was going to say this. And there are a lot of non-Nazi German descendants all over the coast of South America. Most prominently in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
      The idea of “brown” Latin Americans is very very American centric.

    • @francesco8000
      @francesco8000 2 роки тому +60

      A fun data that show how right you are there are only 2 countries on Earth where the majority of the population has Italian origin: one is Italy and the other is Argentina.

    • @steelsolider95
      @steelsolider95 2 роки тому +17

      Talk about the nazi descended Bavarian towns in the middle of Argentina

  • @alishatree2315
    @alishatree2315 12 днів тому

    I've had this video on the back burner for 2 years now, was here right when it came out. But decided to read the book first and eventually come back to it. More than glad I did this and I feel like I got so much more out of this than if I just watched it when it came out. Thank you for a fantastic video, you're by far the best teacher I've encountered on this platform.

  • @MachineElf_Official
    @MachineElf_Official 3 місяці тому +13

    I got recommended this after becoming obsessed with helldivers 2

  • @grozwald
    @grozwald Рік тому +382

    No one ever seems to get the message that war is hell. I'll never forget my grandpa telling me, when I asked him of war, "It was just poor kids killing each other, and I pray you never have to experience that. Otherwise my friends died for nothing."

    • @brody7714
      @brody7714 7 місяців тому +29

      The entire US military industrial complex nauseates me, especially after they almost got one of my friends to join up… I’ve never hated anything more. And it brings me great shame that my country (Canada) isn’t so different…

    • @markstrom3630
      @markstrom3630 7 місяців тому +15

      ​@@brody7714exactly why we need vets to lead our country they wont want to just escalate and send the young off to die like the rich politicians do today who are career politicians

    • @mbeecher9921
      @mbeecher9921 7 місяців тому +1

      My grandfather never once spoke of war.

    • @migBdk
      @migBdk 7 місяців тому +11

      ​@@markstrom3630that's exactly the opposite of what the book and movie show. They show a nation ruled by veterans who send their young ones to fight and die

    • @sajiretto
      @sajiretto 7 місяців тому +1

      I have friends that enlisted in Azov, doing multiple tours. And then did it again last year. When I asked why, the answer was dual in nature. "Someone has too and it's fun.".

  • @ArthoR1992
    @ArthoR1992 Рік тому +193

    The enemy cannot push the dislike, if you disable it's hand.

    • @louistournas120
      @louistournas120 5 місяців тому

      I like bush. I take shower but my back is hard for me to reach.

  • @stevenclark1662
    @stevenclark1662 7 місяців тому +32

    We have a similar history!
    Saw the movie at 15, joined the army at 18, and finally read ST during AIT (Ft. Gordon).
    I'm very conflicted about a lot of ideas from the book, and it will forever be one of my favorites.

    • @snuffeldjuret
      @snuffeldjuret 7 місяців тому

      I think it is a bit funny, as an observer, that american society is so weak now that they saw jan 6 as a legitimate threat to democracy. That is why a nation needs citizens, not just civilians.

    • @NYG5
      @NYG5 6 місяців тому

      Seeing how social democracy IS bringing us to the brink of chaos, it seems there must be another way. You can't just give the franchise to anybody, otherwise half the voters are easily manipulated retards with no stake in the system who swamp out the other half.

  • @SaibaKeiosu
    @SaibaKeiosu 3 місяці тому

    i've watched this video essay about 4x by now - it's still good everytime i watch it.
    Thankyou - Subscribed!

  • @infblu3808
    @infblu3808 2 роки тому +355

    11:20 In fact, this would be standard practice. The Romans did it as well. The first line is the newest element, youngest soldiers, least experienced.
    First, because you want to blood them as soon as possible. Second because you want your better troops in reserve to handle the issues that will arise after first contact. Third, so if an enemy is badly underestimated or a trap is sprung, your more valuable elements are not wasted and you can then react with a better understanding of the force you are engaged with.

    • @nimblehuman
      @nimblehuman 2 роки тому +55

      Indeed, what you are describing is the velites -> hastati -> principes -> triarii organization of the Republican Roman army. The least veteran and lightest-equipped troops were always placed at the front line to start, with better equipped and more experienced troops in the rear ranks.

    • @ADogNamedStay
      @ADogNamedStay 2 роки тому +4

      Facts.

    • @amerigo88
      @amerigo88 2 роки тому +24

      LindyBeige has a great video on Roman tactics and doctrine on his UA-cam channel. The oldest soldiers were in the rearmost line and the Romans had an expression for a battle that had gone very badly. The message was, "It was so bad that the oldest troops had to bail us out."

    • @WilliamBrinkley45
      @WilliamBrinkley45 2 роки тому +12

      That’s how the empire in Star Wars works also. That’s why all the storm troopers had terrible aim, they were basically raw recruits.

    • @josmo1363
      @josmo1363 2 роки тому +10

      the practice of putting young untested troops into battle straight out of training is pretty standard
      Although this tactic is usually employed when said military force is not in the best position for success and therefore desperate

  • @Phoenix-ej2sh
    @Phoenix-ej2sh 2 роки тому +173

    This like is for cosplay helmets on ferrets.

    • @EnigmaMachinist
      @EnigmaMachinist 2 роки тому +3

      This was the exact moment I remembered to hit the Like button!

    • @ex-navyspook
      @ex-navyspook 2 роки тому +2

      I know! Too dang cute!

  • @SerLebronOfHouseLakers
    @SerLebronOfHouseLakers 10 місяців тому +27

    Great movie. A lot of those cgi effects hold up man, and the practical ones make me feel nostalgic. Good message if you’re willing to sit with it and think, but also has plenty of dumb fun I can have on in the background anytime! Watched it like 5 times this year alone lol

  • @Arturius_Rex_8
    @Arturius_Rex_8 6 місяців тому +8

    I heard/read somewhere that Heinlein's works were mostly written as vehicles for technology analysis. Like, Starship Troopers was written for discussion on the power suits.

  • @SoulExistence00
    @SoulExistence00 2 роки тому +1161

    The quote, "C'mon, you apes, you wanna live forever?" Was adapted from Marine First Sgt Dan Daly.
    On 10 June 1918, during the Battle of Belleau Wood, 44-year-old Marine Corps First Sergeant Dan Daly, armed with a pistol and hand grenades, single-handedly attacked and destroyed an enemy machine gun emplacement.
    It was the kind of action from which legends are born, but it was not even Daly’s most famous action that month. He is better known for his battle leadership four days earlier, when he urged his 73rd Machine Gun Company forward with words now legendary in the Marine Corps: “Come on, you sons of bitches; do you want to live forever?”

    • @tenshisouran8560
      @tenshisouran8560 2 роки тому +57

      He was also known for the quote. Retreat hell we just got here. I believe that was the same person.

    • @wangyanhui1303
      @wangyanhui1303 2 роки тому +76

      It could also been a quote from Prussian king Frederick II., who often fought along his soldiers. Rumors say that he shouted to fleeing soldiers in German: "Ihr verfluchten Kerls, wollt ihr denn ewig leben?" ("Damn fools, you want to live forever?")

    • @uncletiggermclaren7592
      @uncletiggermclaren7592 2 роки тому +28

      @@tenshisouran8560 Punctuation, it is your friend.

    • @rainsong1803
      @rainsong1803 2 роки тому +4

      A sabayon fan I see

    • @rainsong1803
      @rainsong1803 2 роки тому +6

      Sabaton

  • @Caseyuptobat
    @Caseyuptobat Рік тому +203

    Fun fact regarding the anime version of Rico: the blonde hair and blue eyes were to cash in on his thematic similarities to a young Char Aznable from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which had similarly taken its own shots at lampooning fascism a few years before the Starship Troopers anime aired.

    • @felixcarter1435
      @felixcarter1435 Рік тому +2

      Did it put actual fascism in its satire, unlike Verhoeven?

    • @glockenspiel604
      @glockenspiel604 Рік тому +15

      ​@Felix Carter I'd say yes, in gundam the space nation of zeon was a republic with two major political families plus one visionary leader who had his own personality cult. One of these families assassinates the beloved leader as well as one of their own to make it look like the other family was making a powerplay so they could push them put of power and take total control of the nation with the head of the family becoming the Supreme leader with total authority.

    • @hellacoorinna9995
      @hellacoorinna9995 Рік тому

      ​@@glockenspiel604
      Seig Zeon

    • @LadyoftheLab
      @LadyoftheLab 11 місяців тому +8

      ​@@felixcarter1435 the main villain's dad literally says "have you ever heard of Adolf Hitler?" To which the son responds "He sounded like a great guy."

    • @felixcarter1435
      @felixcarter1435 11 місяців тому +8

      @@LadyoftheLab Most of my issue with NPC commentary on ST is that it has made people not understand what fascism really is. It's not 'having a military' or 'black trenchcoats'. Fascism is best defined as extremely centralized/unchallenged authority.
      While your point about Hitler affection is probably correct, I don't know if just that is enough to make it fascist.

  • @user-gs8me6bh6c
    @user-gs8me6bh6c 4 місяці тому +8

    I served in the Australian Infantry in Vietnam 1969/70 . I also read the book and saw the movie. Thanks for reminding me.

    • @Dead_Again1313
      @Dead_Again1313 3 місяці тому +3

      I was in Iraq as a Marine Infantryman. Thanks for having our backs. We seriously appreciate our Australian brothers in arms.

    • @Ma_Zhongying
      @Ma_Zhongying 3 місяці тому +3

      ⁠​⁠@@Dead_Again1313The Iraqis probably appreciated it a little less.

  • @absolutelypositivelyme
    @absolutelypositivelyme 6 місяців тому +100

    I love that the story appears to be motivated by the idea that not hitting your kids = downfall of society.

    • @PWaldo-lw2ds
      @PWaldo-lw2ds 6 місяців тому +20

      I mean... Have you looked around you, lately?
      I don't agree with Heinlein on a lot of points, and I want to be clear, I'm memeing, but. Makes you wonder if he had a point.

    • @poyobotyahoo7494
      @poyobotyahoo7494 5 місяців тому +29

      He probably had, in moderation.
      Does spanking is essential to a proper and polite society?
      Hell no!
      Does some level of restriction and strictness by parents to their children is important?
      Yeah, I think so.

    • @Albinospenguin
      @Albinospenguin 4 місяці тому +11

      It totally is, the history teacher in the book drop a sentence on how weak democraciies of the 20th century crumbled under undisciplined kids wieldings chains.

    • @PauaP
      @PauaP 4 місяці тому

      Aren’t people in our leadership basically old men and women?
      A bit weird of the correlation between hitting children = downfall of society…

    • @malum9478
      @malum9478 3 місяці тому

      @@PWaldo-lw2ds no it doesn't.
      in fact tf are you talking about? kids are more peaceful now than they have been in the last fifty or so years. if anything, the people who need hitting are old people.

  • @TheGominabear
    @TheGominabear Рік тому +438

    Actually the “Come on Apes, do you want to live forever?” Comes from Dan Daly at the battle of belleau woods. I love it’s inclusion though so motivating.

    • @moretar
      @moretar 10 місяців тому +18

      I bet somebody replied "well, yes, I'd like to live forever actually"

    • @kinagrill
      @kinagrill 9 місяців тому +28

      Retreat, hell! we just got here!

    • @adammccoy5166
      @adammccoy5166 8 місяців тому +35

      Except Dan Daly said " Come on you sons of bitches, Do you want to live Forever"
      I guess they had to clean up the language

    • @turtleanton6539
      @turtleanton6539 8 місяців тому +1

      ​@@adammccoy5166i dont see why

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 7 місяців тому +5

      ​​@@turtleanton6539Yeah, considering the film was rated R, it's weird they would feel the need to clean up sons of bitches.

  • @flyingwombat59
    @flyingwombat59 2 роки тому +342

    The “unknown platoon sergeant” was Gunnery Sergeant, later Sergeant Major, Daniel Dailey, USMC at the Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918. The exact words were different than depicted in the book. Daily was awarded the Medal of Honor twice, in 1900 and 1915 respectively. He was awarded the Navy Cross for WWI

    • @JuanSilva-ym9pf
      @JuanSilva-ym9pf 2 роки тому +38

      “Come on you sons of bitches, you want to live forever!”
      -Dan Daly

    • @flyingwombat59
      @flyingwombat59 2 роки тому +6

      @@JuanSilva-ym9pf According to one source, Daily, says he didn’t swear. I heard both versions.

    • @JuanSilva-ym9pf
      @JuanSilva-ym9pf 2 роки тому +3

      @@flyingwombat59 did that source also spell his name correctly?

    • @flyingwombat59
      @flyingwombat59 2 роки тому

      @@JuanSilva-ym9pf if there are any spelling mistakes, if’s my fault

    • @Dan-daley
      @Dan-daley 2 роки тому

      Shit whos the dan dailey

  • @commanderpuffy1014
    @commanderpuffy1014 3 місяці тому +5

    One of the things I love about the Starship troopers film is just how far away klendathu is from earth is the other side of the god damn galaxy how were the bugs supposed to accurately launch a meteorite that far and that fast. It heavily implies that the meteorites are either freak accidents dressed up by the media or that they were sent by the government themselves to justify war spending and invading klenadthu

  • @izimiger8924
    @izimiger8924 5 місяців тому

    Very well put together analysis, enjoyed every minute, thanks!

  • @epoc162
    @epoc162 2 роки тому +611

    The sending basic training graduates with a new leader in a first wave makes total sense for a movie like this. The point is that command knew it would be bloody. Who is best lost? New recruits or seasoned veterans? In a military state, throwing bodies at a problem is not uncommon.

    • @therussianyetishow1238
      @therussianyetishow1238 2 роки тому +26

      Exactly, further justification for combat and not only that, working the public up into a frenzy for new recruits.

    • @mstrSparkles
      @mstrSparkles 2 роки тому +36

      The US did this for DDay as well. The more experienced troops would be alot less likely to take the risks. Stephen Ambrose's DDay book talks about it.

    • @sock2828
      @sock2828 2 роки тому +18

      Some militaries in history have even used the tactic of forcing wave after wave of captured enemy civilians to attack a target so that military loses are as low as possible.

    • @epoc162
      @epoc162 2 роки тому +4

      @@sock2828 that is true. Though in modern wars if you did this, would would have the entire world turn against you if you tried that.

    • @memeshort7189
      @memeshort7189 2 роки тому +7

      @@sock2828 The mongols would round up villagers living around big cities and march them in front. Sometimes they would use the bodies to make bridges over moats or trenches.

  • @88Xlmk
    @88Xlmk 2 роки тому +272

    This sounds like Athenian Democracy - Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training as ephebes had the right to vote in Athens.
    Similar thing in Sparta - every male citizen over the age of 30 and being a soldier is mandatory, so in the end a soldier with experience is making the decisions.

    • @nathanbruce1992
      @nathanbruce1992 2 роки тому +5

      Didnt sparta have a king?

    • @JBGARINGAN
      @JBGARINGAN 2 роки тому +32

      Rome as well, except the status of citizen is not bound by military service though many citizens did earn their citizen status by military service. Auxiliary soldiers (non citizens which made up half the army) when their 10-20 year service is complete are granted citizenship and their sons can inherit that citizenship. This how Rome went from a city state to subjugating the Latins, Etruscans, and Italics. They assimilated as they conquered, when all of Italy was fully integrated into Roman culture they went into southern Gaul, Iberia, Sicily, and North Africa. Legionnaires are soldiers who were already citizens, they were rewarded a few acres of land to farm and make a good living after their service. This is how the empire expanded, driven by this cycle of soldiers who fight and win the wars settling in the new territories with citizenship and the new soldiers that take their place wanting to fight another war again. In addition to this the whole governing body is made up of veterans, the cursus honorum or the political career hierarchy can only be started when one has served ten years in the army and attain the rank of tribune. Therefore in theory all men in government and the senate would have accomplished their place by merit and therefore would be worthy of their post. However towards the later period of the Republic the system was blatantly ignored and was perverted and corrupted by the power of the wealthy seeping into the establishment and soon enough essentially men were appointed and remove to posts by the general who possessed Rome at the time by the whim of their political loyalties: Marius, Sulla, Marius again, Pompey then Caesar, and finally Augustus who would then take away the power from the rotten senate invested in the imperator, the senate would remain to maintain the old republican tradition but by all means Rome was now once again a monarchy though not nessecarily heriditary as imperators chose their heirs which though under dynasties like the Julio-Claudian and Flavian gens would be heriditary, later emperors would opt to adopt non related competent friends.

    • @baronofbahlingen9662
      @baronofbahlingen9662 2 роки тому +1

      @@nathanbruce1992 yes but they also had some democratic institutions, but as he said, only for veterans.

    • @88Xlmk
      @88Xlmk 2 роки тому

      @Cool Cat Thank you for mentioning it, I actually skipped it intentionally, but it is a valid point. As far as I know, there were two kings with equal authority, elder council and even one more group which is used to supervise the power of the other groups. I actually like both the spartan and Athenian systems - both look very practical.

    • @christophergreen6595
      @christophergreen6595 2 роки тому +4

      Of course in Sparta, there's lots of sexual abuse and 85% of the population are slaves. And to 'become a man'... you don't go into the wilderness and kill a wolf, you go into the slave neighborhood and kill an untrained man.

  • @gomezasc
    @gomezasc 6 місяців тому +22

    I love this video; it hits home. When I was an active-duty Marine (I am a babyboomer), I read all the books you've spoken about and more. Your analysis is spot on. By the way, I am a troop to teacher, and I teach English Language Arts and History. I use these books to make points i.e., the Vietnam Era, etc. I love your videos.

    • @NYG5
      @NYG5 6 місяців тому

      I'm surprised the school doesn't ban you from using these, uh, white centric books or whatever bs they want to cook up

  • @danamulter
    @danamulter 6 місяців тому +16

    As a hobbyist writer who grew up on Heinlein, it took me a long time to figure out why his work sat well with me in some places and poorly in others. Eventually, it boiled down to a disillusioned realization that the guy was pumping out social assessment from an antiquated perspective that I couldn't relate to, but it had cool scifi writing and it was a little horny for nerds. I'd love to say that taking "fiction as fiction", superficially as entertainment, is the way to approach these things -- but it isn't. Looking at what is raised up and what is buried, getting an appraising eye on the lenses of the author, is important. You can't separate art and the artist, because the artist can't either.

  • @cmrscorpio
    @cmrscorpio 2 роки тому +155

    When I was teenage male in the 90s, I loved Verhoven's movies because they had all the things I wanted to see in a movie. As an adult in my 40s, his movies have all the things I want to see presented in ways I want to think about.

    • @AudieHolland
      @AudieHolland 2 роки тому +1

      I bet you haven't seen
      "Turkish Delight"
      "Katie Tipple"
      "Spetters"

  • @HaloFTW55
    @HaloFTW55 2 роки тому +111

    Fun fact: Camp Arthur Currie was named after the Canadian General Arthur Currie, Currie was in charge of the Canadian Corps for most of the war after his division successfully fought off the first poison gas attack in history at a heavy cost (including one action where 2 battalions successfully conducted a bayonet charge across 300 yards of open ground under machine gun fire). After he was promoted to command what later became the Canadian Corps, Currie's use of detailed and well planned actions very often produced success and set a standard for the Canadian Army that is still followed today.
    More fun fact: Currie had his reputation dragged through the mud by Sam Hughes (Minister of Defense). Hughes himself was responsible for heavy mismanaging the war particularly the poor quality control of the the Canadian Ross rifle (which was one reason the aforementioned bayonet charge happened).

    • @GrimRX
      @GrimRX 2 роки тому +2

      Camp Arthur Currie also seems to be based on the geographical location of another fun Canadian Army gem: CFB Wainwright.

    • @spaceman081447
      @spaceman081447 2 роки тому +2

      @Artyom Liu
      RE: ". . . Currie was in charge of the Canadian Corp . . ."
      It's spelled corps - and pronounced like "core." A corps is composed of two or more divisions. It is typically commanded by a lieutenant general.

    • @HaloFTW55
      @HaloFTW55 2 роки тому

      @@spaceman081447 I know, was very tired when typing it. But thanks, have corrected the comment.

    • @HaloFTW55
      @HaloFTW55 2 роки тому

      @@GrimRX I've never been to Painwright, heard a lot about it though.

    • @GrimRX
      @GrimRX 2 роки тому

      @@HaloFTW55 "Painwright" hah hah, yeah, that would be a good nickname for it. I've been there on and off far too many years of my life.

  • @POWERPOWERPOWER_
    @POWERPOWERPOWER_ 2 місяці тому +5

    I wanna see the bump this video got when Helldivers II came out because its appearing on my feed again.

    • @KnowingBetter
      @KnowingBetter  2 місяці тому +14

      This video usually gets ~35k views in a 28-day period. This period, it was 99k views.

    • @nundus4462
      @nundus4462 2 місяці тому +1

      ​@@KnowingBetter Holy hell!

  • @ech0oo197
    @ech0oo197 3 місяці тому +17

    Join the helldivers.

  • @alecciarosewater7438
    @alecciarosewater7438 2 роки тому +240

    "i just wanted a dumb movie about shooting bugs"
    I can see how works like Starcraft and Warhammer emerged from the desire to skip to the part where marines fight aliens

    • @euansmith3699
      @euansmith3699 2 роки тому +96

      Yeah, 40k used to be a mild satire on totalitarianism and Thatcherite militarism; unfortunately, I kind of feel that has gone by the board these days.
      I talked to John Wagner once, and he said how disappointing it was to sign copies of his comics for fans who thought that Judge Dredd was the "good guy", and not a neo-fascist monster.

    • @fromthefire4176
      @fromthefire4176 2 роки тому +6

      Euan Smith imo it’s more understandable with older works like from the 80’s when this stuff was less clear. But writers need to be a bit more aware and considerate of the impact their works can have. I mean, war and violence are very hard to portray or utilize in a story without either clearly denouncing it and it’s appeal making it not cool at all, or celebrating and glorifying it to some degree. It’s problematic because people want to enjoy what they watch, read etc.

    • @alecciarosewater7438
      @alecciarosewater7438 2 роки тому +10

      @@fromthefire4176 The most interesting videogame plots ive seen over the last decade have been the ones that show the consequences of armed conflict. Blue Planet plays out like a tragedy. Brigador shows why mercenaries are a bad idea while Dark Future reconstructs cyberpunk as a genre by showing what happens outside of the cyberpunk cities. All three of these games are quick to get to the point where pilots shoot each other with lasers

    • @SuperGman117
      @SuperGman117 2 роки тому +22

      Warhammer books still do a good job of telling you the Imperium are ABSOLUTELY NOT GOOD GUYS, but that's pretty much lost in the games. The games are still good, but they do have the problem of making the Imperium look more heroic than it actually is. Starcraft though... Starcraft is just a generic space opera that stole like half of its concepts from Warhammer. I actually like Starcraft, but not because it's "good" or anything. I can't really explain it, I just like it.

    • @Dong_Harvey
      @Dong_Harvey 2 роки тому +8

      @@euansmith3699 it's kinda funny to me that the Judge Dredd movie, totally fun schlock' features a person named Rico that could be described as an adult version of Starship Troopers Rico
      As for the issue of fans not getting the point, similar stuff happens to 'Ghost in the Shell' and even 'Gundam', both of which slap the audience with horror and yet ultimately accidentally glorify it

  • @angustin6590
    @angustin6590 2 роки тому +397

    This movie has the same issue as Das Boot. The soundtrack is so good, it makes it hard to resist the urge to do your part.
    Also the teacher leading them into war is an homage to "Im Westen nichts Neues" (All quiet at the western front).

    • @ephoratagora4179
      @ephoratagora4179 2 роки тому +13

      Music IS the drug....

    • @RhodokTribesman
      @RhodokTribesman 2 роки тому +38

      What? Das Boot was extremely anti-war and from the perspective of those who were forced to fight in a needless war. Every character who believed in honor or "doing your part" in that movie was written as a blatant fool (i.e. the reporter at first, the political officer, the Kriegsmarine captains later on). I found it to be a pretty stoic take

    • @angustin6590
      @angustin6590 2 роки тому +31

      @@RhodokTribesman Das Boot wasn't perceived as "extremely anti-war" in Germany.

    • @chrissoclone
      @chrissoclone 2 роки тому +10

      @@angustin6590 I believe it was, and I never saw it any other way.

    • @juicebox9465
      @juicebox9465 2 роки тому +3

      Kantorek?

  • @thenoblepoptart
    @thenoblepoptart Місяць тому +3

    a helldiver has the COURAGE to make the safety of super earth his PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • @abrahamvidrio771
    @abrahamvidrio771 3 місяці тому +4

    Having never watched the movie but hearing about it, I since then watched it and was amazed by the commentary it was giving. Truly ahead of its time.

  • @f0rth3l0v30fchr15t
    @f0rth3l0v30fchr15t 2 роки тому +126

    After 2005, I like to believe that Carl had a relative called Leeroy whose tactical doctrine was employed during the invasion of Klendathu.

  • @paytonkraft7564
    @paytonkraft7564 2 роки тому +218

    I would just like to say I watched all through the *ahem* awkward film trilogy and the animated movies for starship troopers. I thought it was a bit weird sending a green team in the first wave, until several years later when I realized how cold-hearted and authoritarian the UCF (United CITIZEN Federation) really is. Then it made sense, the guy at the recruiting station back at pre-retaliation Buenos Aires said it best: "Fresh meat for the grinder." Rico and his training buddies were an expendable probe. Not only had fleet GROSSLY underestimated the bugs, but the MI was sent in to see just how heavily colonized Klendathu really was.

    • @th3highwayman
      @th3highwayman Рік тому +26

      I feel like it’s implied that the United Federation only stays together because they have a common enemy: the bugs.
      During the training segment of the movie, a guy asks the drill instructor, “why don’t we just nuke ‘em?” which is actually a pretty valid question, it’s not like the bugs can fire back, to which the DI throws a knife in his hand. When you consider that by prolonging and making the war go on for as long as possible, the Federation can’t splinter from infighting.

    • @paytonkraft7564
      @paytonkraft7564 Рік тому +9

      @@th3highwayman it is, yes, the federation's fascist psychology is deeply and irreversibly rooted. To the point that it can't survive without it.

    • @SoulSoundMuisc
      @SoulSoundMuisc Рік тому +2

      It's a very old tactic. Even Phalanx formations did that, not just to be brutal but to "finish their training". Green troops would be in the front rank and the hardened veterans would be directly behind them to:
      Toughen them up.
      Keep them from breaking.
      Take their place in the rank when they fell.
      When your military has a surplus of manpower, it's just a thing which is done for mass troop formations.

    • @sg0310
      @sg0310 Рік тому

      There's plenty of real world examples of inexperienced troops being sent in blind, they get wiped out of lose the majority of their strength? Maybe rest them for a bit before either reinforcing them with replacements or putting them into new units. As a commander if you have to send troops in blind to a potentially very hostile environment it just makes more sense to send green troops because their loss will be felt the least, sure experienced units would probably fare better but that's why you save them for when you know what you're up against if at all possible.

    • @paytonkraft7564
      @paytonkraft7564 Рік тому +1

      @@sg0310 that's fair. Cold, but fair.

  • @TheDemonitha
    @TheDemonitha 6 місяців тому +2

    God damn it, the stupid physic nebula add got me. personally I loathe in video ads (however, I do understand them). This one gave me a good laugh, you earned your like.

  • @gabrielleentwistle6030
    @gabrielleentwistle6030 6 місяців тому +11

    What a feckin SUPERB vid!
    I bought the VHS of ST at my local rental store as soon as it was available for sale. I read the book after watching the movie and was delighted how different it was to the film adaptation. Seeing how certain themes were kept, but also enjoying how different Verhoven's creation was.
    What a superb movie. Have loved it from the first watch.
    Well done soldier, you did your duty to this movie. Also, where did you get your M.I. flag and outfit? Looks the shit man. Dont suppose you have a M.I. rifle too?
    Thanks man!
    ON THE BOUNCE!

  • @J_Stronsky
    @J_Stronsky 2 роки тому +134

    It's funny how many people I know who served, had the same path as you of ironically liking the movie for the wrong reasons, reading the book in a critical way, changing their views on militarism to a more nuanced position and then coming full circle to like the movie unironically for the right reasons.
    Myself, I loved the movie, joined the army and it was at the academy that a military history lecturer of mine just straight up told us to go read the book, no essay or anything - just, go read this and rethink your position. Very glad he did that.
    Great vid as always mate, love your stuff.

  • @vennom14
    @vennom14 2 роки тому +1626

    Love the movie, as an action comedy
    Love the book, same with Ender's Game
    Joined the Marine Corps, was sorely disappointed by the lack of bugs

    • @vennom14
      @vennom14 2 роки тому +171

      @hognoxious No, that's a myth. They give out crayons as rewards, but being the Marine Corps, they gave us the cheap knock-off brand. If you wanted good quality, you had to buy crayola at the store

    • @lv.99mastermind45
      @lv.99mastermind45 2 роки тому +54

      stop lying, you joined to do your part, not to fight the bugs

    • @vennom14
      @vennom14 2 роки тому +46

      @@lv.99mastermind45 it's true...

    • @joshualeizerman6164
      @joshualeizerman6164 2 роки тому +39

      There were plenty of bugs around LeJeune =D

    • @JumpDaddy70
      @JumpDaddy70 2 роки тому +11

      Thats what you get for eating crayons instead of jumping out of planes

  • @ninorac6264
    @ninorac6264 5 місяців тому +3

    This video was absolutely amazing, thank you for taking the time to turn the overarching message into laymen terms!

  • @lupercal2402
    @lupercal2402 3 місяці тому

    This is such a good watch! Props to you❤!

  • @frankm.2850
    @frankm.2850 2 роки тому +539

    I forgot about the Mormon extremists bit. Given actual Mormon history, that's totally believable.

    • @owenbunny4023
      @owenbunny4023 2 роки тому +18

      if Mormon can start a country around the Utah region with borders around the mountain and choke points. They defi will.

    • @MrJack1992
      @MrJack1992 2 роки тому +12

      @@owenbunny4023 the Mormon nation would be a bunch of badlands, parts of Mexico and nearly all of Utah. Meanwhile rural Pennsylvania would be of the Amish extremists.

    • @owenbunny4023
      @owenbunny4023 2 роки тому +19

      @@MrJack1992 someone should make a video game based on this

    • @jizburg
      @jizburg 2 роки тому +2

      Hah i totaly forgot about that part. Hillarious.

    • @jizburg
      @jizburg 2 роки тому +10

      @@7LegSpiders but yea. Settling in a desolate land, and getting in trouble with the natives is not a new thing for mormons. ^^

  • @Mad_Oph
    @Mad_Oph 2 роки тому +400

    I had a similar introduction to Starship Troopers. I saw the movie as a young kid, loved it and misunderstood it for all the regular reasons, then read the book and was disillusioned by the bleakness of it, and here I am now as an Army vet and I can appreciate not only the fun of the film but also the indictments it makes on everyone who watches it. Totally a classic in my opinion.

    • @scottcantdance804
      @scottcantdance804 2 роки тому +14

      It was one of the first times I saw boobs after puberty had started.
      It will always have a place in my heart.

    • @SimonAshworthWood
      @SimonAshworthWood 2 роки тому +8

      Starship Troopers indicts you warheads, not us peace activists.

    • @panameadeplm
      @panameadeplm 2 роки тому +36

      the reality is that verhoeven is an idiot that didn't understand the point of the book, it has nothing to do with fascism at all, so why exactly is it a satire of fascism?
      The undeniable fact that violence IS the ultimate authority from which all other authority is derived is a monumentally important lesson that should be taught in schools, because it is only through the understanding of this fact that liberal democracy can exist, in opposition to statist authoritarian meat grinders like socialism and its offspring, fascism and communism

    • @Grizabeebles
      @Grizabeebles 2 роки тому +2

      @@panameadeplm -- I agree that use of force is the source from which all authority is derived. However, I disagree that violence is the supreme force.
      I think it would be interesting to read a companion book to Starship Troopers about someone who earned their franchise in the Federation through civil activism.
      By the universe's own logic, an individual could be assigned a job within the Federal bureaucracy, and then have to risk their life to expose some sort of corruption or mismanagement as a whistle-blower and protest organizer.
      After all, holding the state accountable through loyal opposition integral to the functioning of any parliamentary democracy.

    • @Talsedoom
      @Talsedoom 2 роки тому +6

      I'm Russian, I served in army and a friend of mine served during war in Chechnya. We both still love this movie, but as any other served man... for a different reasons than in our teenage years. God Bless Paul Verhoeven.

  • @Dariothehungry
    @Dariothehungry 4 місяці тому

    Okay, finished your video. Commented a bit earlier but now that the vid is, amazing breakdown. 👏

  • @liamcarlson5524
    @liamcarlson5524 3 місяці тому +3

    Fun fact: the "come on you apes" line comes from a quote attributed to Sgt. Maj. Dan Daly, one of two US Marines to be awarded the congressional medal of honor twice. Famously, during the Battle of Belleau Wood, Sgt Maj Daly witnessed his platoon leader being killed and assumed command of his unit, standing on from his cover he turned to his men shouting "Come on you sons of bitches! Do you wanna live forever?" Before leading a charge against the German lines.

  • @MrChainrule
    @MrChainrule 2 роки тому +339

    I'm glad you mentioned The Forever War, it's such an interesting counterpoint to Starship Troopers.

    • @davis.fourohfour
      @davis.fourohfour 2 роки тому +18

      And Heinlein congratulated Joe Haldeman for writing the finest military SF he had ever read. Joe had been worried, as it was written as a counter to SS by a Vietnam vet.

    • @moonasha
      @moonasha 2 роки тому +33

      I hate that it's portrayed as a "response" to starship troopers. It's just a great book on its own. For some reason a lot of people thought it was pro war.

    • @vladstefan5216
      @vladstefan5216 2 роки тому +1

      @@moonasha
      People had a problem with the fact the book tried to come across as not pro war, but hypocritically described exactly militaristic ideology.

    • @moonasha
      @moonasha 2 роки тому +34

      @@vladstefan5216 what exact part of this book was pro war? The fact that the humans in the book were at war? When at the end it turns out it was all just a misunderstanding and it was an entire waste of resources and life, and the two sides made peace? Yeah that's so pro war...

    • @goldenhide
      @goldenhide 2 роки тому +12

      @@moonasha It wasn't, the action was based on Haldeman's personal experiences in Vietnam and he's gone on at length in interviews stating such. The entire theme however was the earlier veterans of this war coming back to a radically changed Earth, which was what many US 'Nam vets experienced returning home or in their post-service lives.
      It's a separate, excellent story in it's own. O can see where people draw the differences between the the works, but it really wasn't Haldeman's intentions.

  • @denhanced5278
    @denhanced5278 2 роки тому +306

    Oh man, I had a primordial shiver run down my spine when you mentioned "Citizens who have done their service to the algorithm" during that ad. I think I just saw a glimpse of the horrible horrible future.

  • @CeeKayz0rz
    @CeeKayz0rz 2 місяці тому +2

    @18:30 - The book, as I recall, mentions that nonhuman alien species are also united under the "Terran Federation", and are eligible to earn a franchise via service...

  • @ThePatriarchXCI91
    @ThePatriarchXCI91 8 місяців тому +1

    Finished the video, just wanted to say thanks for actually getting the point :)

  • @funkervogt47
    @funkervogt47 2 роки тому +79

    As a teenager, I thought the Starship Troopers movie armor you are wearing was awesome.
    In my 20s, I thought it was dumb because if you look closely, you can see it flexing, meaning it's just rubber and an obvious movie prop.
    In my 30s, I now think, wait, maybe it is both flexible and very strong because it is made of a futuristic material, so it is actually awesome again.

    • @JohnDoe-ef3wo
      @JohnDoe-ef3wo 2 роки тому +4

      I know what you mean exactly ASD

    • @Aphotic_One
      @Aphotic_One 2 роки тому +1

      The power armor in the book is so much better though

  • @MasterGeekMX
    @MasterGeekMX 2 роки тому +55

    26:48 "...were people were afraid to go out at night for fear of being mugged..." dude, 90% of latinamerica lives like that (including myself). And believe me, corporal punishment with the legendary "Mom's sandal" is quite well present.

    • @gringocolombian9919
      @gringocolombian9919 2 роки тому +4

      😔

    • @texaspowers4088
      @texaspowers4088 2 роки тому +3

      This is honestly why I wish he would have focused more on the "civic classes" parts of the book. Heinlein specifically addresses over-paddling and using force in unjust and unnecessary ways.
      It's also why on a second or third reading of the book, that "boring opening scene where they just go down and break things" is actually the use of the philosophy expressed throughout the book being applied to Combat. The Skinnies begin the book as enemies of the Terrain Federation, but eventually they become allies. How this happens is directly related to a use of force which deterred further violence and cost the Skinnies time and resources to rebuild.
      They literally weren't there to kill, they were there to cause problems that the Skinnies would have to focus on rather than making war.

    • @mangalores-x_x
      @mangalores-x_x 2 роки тому +6

      @@texaspowers4088 Doesn't change that this very idea is unreal nonsense and not how violence works aka not works.
      It implies coercing submission from another power and that somehow leading to positive relations because... ... ... the author wrote it that way. It is the complete opposite of how reality works. Plenty of direct case studies in the past 20 years why it does not work even with overwhelming firepower.

    • @jon4139
      @jon4139 2 роки тому

      @@mangalores-x_x Why didn't it work in those examples? Also violence.

    • @texaspowers4088
      @texaspowers4088 2 роки тому +4

      @@mangalores-x_x
      What you are referring to is a shock and awe strategy. The MI are not using this kind of strategy.
      This strategy actually more closely aligns with some of today's military doctrine. Hit them hard and fast cause problems that they have to solve before they can retaliate and negotiate for peace while they rebuild.
      This is, in fact, an effective strategy especially if you are careful with your explosives and try your best to prevent civilian casualties instead of changing the definition of civilian like the Obama administration, which was neither careful or concerned about human life.

  • @elisantiago9961
    @elisantiago9961 3 місяці тому +1

    Thank you for your intuitive insight regarding starship trooper the movie and the book...... I haven't read the book but I'm sure I'm going to make a point of doing it now........ Starship troopers has been one of my favorite all-time sci-fi movies....... Not only did I give you a like but I also subscribed...... I am looking forward to some more intelligent and comprehensive content...... Please keep up the good work....... It is obvious that you invested a lot of good old fashioned grit to produce an excellent piece of work......
    Thank you

  • @eadghe
    @eadghe 7 місяців тому +9

    13:44 It's not inappropiate if you consider that Johnny first even denied to dance with her, since he's now her superior.
    Rasczak then came up and has given him a life advice, which Johnny already ask him for at prom.
    Rasczak has given him the advice to take the chances he get (because life is obviously uncertain in the military infantry). Rasczak even approved that they were making out and therefore has given them some more minutes till take off. So it wasn't just Johnny ignoring order. Johnny wanted to, but was given green light.

  • @joshuaperry4112
    @joshuaperry4112 2 роки тому +206

    The reason I had always assumed that Johnny and co. end up with the Roughnecks is because Rasczak had never left the military - he was on an ROTC-style leave where he was assigned as a teacher of Morality; probably because only an officer on assignment could teach that class.
    I thought of it somewhat like how a recruiter has their job/specialization outside of being a recruiter: so technically you could be recruited by someone, then have that recruiter called to service and you could then be placed under their command.
    Basically, Rasczak was always active but his squad had not been activated until the Klandathu incident.

    • @NeilCWCampbell
      @NeilCWCampbell 2 роки тому +11

      Not read the book have you?
      All teachers of history and moral philosophy are veterans

    • @grantarmbruster6591
      @grantarmbruster6591 2 роки тому +7

      @@NeilCWCampbell my daughter loves the book and movie like I do but both of us fully understand the movie is not the book.

    • @PhoenixLyon
      @PhoenixLyon 2 роки тому

      That was my thinking, too. ✌😸

    • @purpleslog
      @purpleslog 2 роки тому +2

      In the book there are two different characters that get folded into one character in the movie. That LT in the book is a minor character at best. The high school history and moral philosophy teacher is a major character in the book in my opinion.

    • @kenrupert9983
      @kenrupert9983 2 роки тому +2

      In the movie Klendathu happened after B A.

  • @daxisperry7644
    @daxisperry7644 2 роки тому +962

    I'd say the fact that the only countries that ever get charged with war crimes are ones that lose the war, makes a pretty strong argument for violence being the ultimate authority.

    • @able34bravo37
      @able34bravo37 2 роки тому +183

      The best part of Nuremburg was when the Allies had to drop the charges against the Germans for unrestricted submarine warfare because the Germans pointed out the British and Americans had just finished doing the exact same thing to the Japanese about two months earlier.

    • @tsdobbi
      @tsdobbi 2 роки тому +130

      When countries win a war, or at the very least in this case, if they don't lose a war of capitulation. Obviously they don't charge their own "country" with war crimes, they charge individuals that carried them out. I mean, a number of US service people have been charged with crimes for their actions over the 20 year "war on terror".

    • @daxisperry7644
      @daxisperry7644 2 роки тому +18

      @@tsdobbi Fair point sir.

    • @johnhansen2187
      @johnhansen2187 2 роки тому +34

      @@tsdobbi This is a reason why troops only follow the battle plan handed down by the top, which often requires a ten to thirty minute wait while some intelligence chair warmer looks things up before you can shoot at anyone. This makes it impossible to win a war.

    • @Thesavagesouls
      @Thesavagesouls 2 роки тому +5

      @@johnhansen2187 so true.

  • @Anamnesia
    @Anamnesia 6 місяців тому

    Nice analysis. Worth a comment for your personal insight!

  • @amsfountain8792
    @amsfountain8792 7 місяців тому +3

    In the novel Rico is from the Phillipines. Also they are called apes because their armour. They are more like Terminators from 40k universe, bulky and big, than Imperial Guard as portrayed in the movie.

  • @KeithBallardA
    @KeithBallardA 2 роки тому +1121

    Watching this right before 9/11 as a kid really put me in a messed up headspace for all of the 2000's that I was always afraid to talk about because the country was in such distressing lockstep.

    • @Sablus
      @Sablus 2 роки тому +149

      Glad to see I wasn't the only one that even now is freaked out at the bloodfrothed rage coma we went into post 9/11 and how it accelerated a lot of bad into existence we are only just recognizing now.

    • @method0123
      @method0123 2 роки тому +8

      Interesting that you phrased it in that manner. Have you ever heard of "Operation Lockstep"?

    • @impcec6734
      @impcec6734 2 роки тому +75

      @@method0123 get out of here with that Q bullshit

    • @method0123
      @method0123 2 роки тому +7

      @@impcec6734 that what? Operation Lockstep is real. What does that have to do with Q?

    • @lizardlegend42
      @lizardlegend42 2 роки тому +72

      @@method0123 Dude, cop on. Stop touting shite conspiracy theories as though they're verified fact.

  • @roberthicks1612
    @roberthicks1612 2 роки тому +132

    The pair holding hands was so he could give her a knife.
    As a drill instructor, he had no chance of being in battle, so Zim deliberately tore up Ricco's discharge papers after being told they were the correct signature, saying he did not believe they were. This caused him to be demoted. He knew he could do little as an instructor. He might save lives as a combatant.

    • @akulkis
      @akulkis 2 роки тому +9

      Good catch.

    • @roberthicks1612
      @roberthicks1612 2 роки тому +1

      @@akulkis Thanks

    • @cchavezjr7
      @cchavezjr7 2 роки тому +7

      I don't think that got him busted down. That's why the commanding officer looked at him and then turned his back. He knew that was the right thing to do to let Rico get back to serve and fight back for his family and city.
      I believe it was something that happened down the road. There was a lot of time from the beginning of the war to the final battle as Rico had gone from Private to field promotion LT. Also, there was enough time that "kids" were being recruited and gone through boot to be sent as reinforcements.

    • @roberthicks1612
      @roberthicks1612 2 роки тому +4

      @@cchavezjr7 Yea, BUT the sergeant was begging to be allowed to fight and even asked for a demotion. The officer said that his hands were tied. He stated the only way the sergeant could get into the fight was to get court marshaled and busted in rank. THAT is why he tore up the papers. Then the officer reported him for doing so, and he got busted in rank.

    • @cchavezjr7
      @cchavezjr7 2 роки тому +5

      @@roberthicks1612 I understand what you're saying but the actions of the commanding officer was to turn the back to "not see" what happened. The commanding officer also said that he needed Zim there so was not eager to get rid of him.

  • @bodiestanfield5830
    @bodiestanfield5830 4 місяці тому +2

    The zerg from starcraft were actually supposed to be tyrannids from warhammer 40k, because it was originally supposed to be a licensed tie in game. But im pretty sure that the tyrannids take some inspiration from the xenomorphs from alien, and from the arachnids from the movie version of the story. So in a way, you're half right saying the zerg are based off arachnids.

    • @Mirekluk
      @Mirekluk 2 місяці тому

      Dunno about movie influence... 40k is quite old.

  • @chenkunnie
    @chenkunnie 4 місяці тому

    I was doing a paper on the film and learned a lot about it and backgroud stories, at the start of the video I'm really not sure where are you gonna land, after movie section I had a pretty good idea, but the conclution? Man, that's words well placed, btw nice costumes, and even better intersections.

  • @Kyakid
    @Kyakid 2 роки тому +378

    I first read the book in 1981, It prompted me to join the Marines in 1987 after graduating high school although I would never admit it to anyone in the Corps. The movie came out in 5 years after I was released from stop loss and none of the Verhoven sarcasm was lost on me. I love both stories to this day and both the book and movie remain my occasional guilty pleasures.
    Great fun listening to your commentary. I'm glad I now know better.

    • @spaceman081447
      @spaceman081447 2 роки тому +5

      @Mike Covello
      RE: ". . . although I would never admit it to anyone in the Corps."
      Why wouldn't you admit that you were inspired to join the Marines by the book Starship Troopers? Wasn't the book, after all, on the Commandant's reading list?

    • @Kyakid
      @Kyakid 2 роки тому +26

      @@spaceman081447 To be honest, at 17 I am not even sure if I remember there even being a reading list. In any case, I would break down the people who enter the Marines into 4 categories:
      1. The hero's: These are the people who are truly gung ho. They bleed red white and blue and while commanders love them, but the average jarhead is never quite sure if that attitude is real or just a facade. You give them the benefit of the doubt but are always worried they will get you killed doing something too ambitious.
      2. The Average Joe: This is the vast majority of the people of the Marine Corps, myself included. Yeah, you are proud of the heritage, and you will do what you are told, including shooting people. You will do anything for your buddies, but war isn't your thing. You just want to do your time and get out, or if you do stay in, you want to keep young Marines from getting killed.
      3. Shitbirds: This is the 10%. They care more for how miserable they are than their fellow Marine. They try to get out of everything and are a real drain on the unit. Fortunately for me, I was in a SOC unit, and they are able to dump most of the shitbirds.
      4. Psycho's: There is at least one in every company. They literally want to kill people (and or) have no sense of social restraint. There is a 50/50 chance that within a 4-year enlistment they will end up either dead or in Leavenworth. No one trusts them and hopefully, the leadership recognizes this and forces them out on a Section 8. They will drag others down with them.
      I think Jonny Ricoh, like myself, would fall into category #2.

    • @spaceman081447
      @spaceman081447 2 роки тому +6

      @@Kyakid
      Thanks for the summary of categories. I find it to be very informative. I would guess that it would be much the same in an Army infantry unit.
      I don't mean to be picky, but I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell your fellow Marines that the book Starship Troopers inspired you to join the Marines.
      What is "stop loss"? What is "SOC"?

    • @Kyakid
      @Kyakid 2 роки тому +15

      @@spaceman081447 Well, I wouldn't tell anyone because they would razz me continuously about being a hero type. Knowing me, they would know better, but those ongoing jokes can last years and they do get old.
      As for stop loss, that is when your enlistment is up but you are in the middle of a war and the military deems you necessary to the war effort. my war was Desert Storm, and my 4-year enlistment wound up being 4 years 9 months and 3 days.
      SOC in my day is what they now refer to as MARSOC it stands for Special Operations Capable.
      Basically, it's the Marine Corps mission equivalent of the Army Rangers. For example, if you have a bad guy like say Osama Bin Laden that you want to snatch, you are going to send in someone like Delta Force or the Seals to get them. But they need to be protected from anyone who would not want them to succeed. To do that you are going to need more bodies than they have. So you would have someone like the Rangers or MARSOC surround the operating area to perform what they call blocking operations. anyone tries to interfere or send in reinforcements or whatever, and you take them out. Additionally, if the target is not quite as valuable, or is a non-combatant like, say a hostage, the SOC unit would probably perform the entire mission.
      Hope that clarifies.

    • @spaceman081447
      @spaceman081447 2 роки тому +6

      @@Kyakid
      You have answered all of my questions. Thank you very much.

  • @rachel_sj
    @rachel_sj 2 роки тому +221

    “Starship Troopers: An Alien War Movie with Boobs”
    My almost-forty-year-old fiancé concurs with your summation of that fine entry to cinema my Good Sir

    • @____dwaawdwadawd1342
      @____dwaawdwadawd1342 2 роки тому +2

      Reddit

    • @pauljackson3491
      @pauljackson3491 2 роки тому +1

      You have been engaged for forty years!
      You probably mean she is about 40 and you are engaged but making fun of English grammar is better.

  • @chrisd6287
    @chrisd6287 2 місяці тому

    As someone who joined in the military in 03, watching this video all the while reflecting was pretty surreal. Fantastic work my friend.

  • @BenCDBrown
    @BenCDBrown 7 місяців тому +19

    Fun fact: the arachnids in the movie were made for a Tremmors sequel by Phil Tippit. Phil, you had two jobs, supervisor the dinosaurs and make a monster for a movie. You couldn't do the first and you phoned in the second.

  • @bf5175
    @bf5175 2 роки тому +1009

    If you have never read "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, you should. It is in many ways a response (whether intentional or not) to Starship Troopers and one of the greatest anti-war science fiction stories ever written. Haldeman was a Vietnam combat veteran who was severely wounded in the war and while the Forever War is mainly an allegory for Vietnam it is a much more honest and critical take on the militarization of society than Starship Troopers. Heinlein was a naval officer, Haldeman was actually in the shit and knows personally the horror of infantry combat, something Heinlein had no personal experience with.

    • @ruarrow2843
      @ruarrow2843 2 роки тому +10

      this, exactly! thank you.

    • @resurrectedwarriors1758
      @resurrectedwarriors1758 2 роки тому +21

      As someone in the military, you have it in the inverse

    • @rationalroundhead6739
      @rationalroundhead6739 2 роки тому +79

      To play Devil's advocate here, the Troopers in Starship Troopers aren't really soldiers as they're portrayed in the film. They're wearing Mech suits, possibly the first example of a mech suit in Science fiction. The soldiers themselves are treated more like vehicle pilots. It's kind of a handwave, to say "All the problems of war can be solved with TECHNOLOGY! Invest in the MIC today!", Especially when the opening chapter has the protagonist drop a TACTICAL NUKE ON A CIVILIAN POPULATION and it's treated like a day's work. But it's not exactly him advocating for sending men into the meat grinder.
      Honestly, most of einlein's work read better as thought experiments, then Heinlein's actual pilosophical opinion. He sprinkles that in a lot, to be sure, but it's more "here's how this socially taboo thing could be justified, provided you had my mindset" then "here's how the world should be IRL." Otherwise, it's kind of hard reconciling the idea of Starship Troopers, Stranger in a strange land, AND the Moon is a Harsh Mistress all being Heinlein's manifesto.

    • @me67galaxylife
      @me67galaxylife 2 роки тому +29

      I mean in you shouldn't just say "war bad so no army"
      Sure war is hell, but what, you think that by thinking like that you'll just be left alone ? Hell no !
      I'd say if you criticize Heinlein, then Hadlerman is just the polar opposite
      Also Heinlein isn't just some rich-ass bastard, he did want to serve but was rejected in ww2

    • @bf5175
      @bf5175 2 роки тому +14

      @@me67galaxylife I have no clue what point you think you're making. Perhaps if you were better at expressing yourself I'd be able to understand.

  • @midgetydeath
    @midgetydeath 2 роки тому +409

    To be clear, in the novel there are infinite ways to earn enfranchisement/citizenship. If you have a disability, they’ll assign something you are capable of, if you are fine but want a non-military option they’ll assign something. Military service is simply one option for enfranchisement and seeking enfranchisement is purely voluntary and was treated in the novel as being more of a burdened responsibility than an advantage though it does get preferred treatment that I assume was inspired by real life veteran preference. And of course, voting.

    • @libertyprime7911
      @libertyprime7911 2 роки тому +27

      Reminds me simultaneously of Obama's "Call to service" (sort of a new-deal / peace corps idea: spend a year of non-military service) and the Israeli 'everybody serves' model.

    • @termitreter6545
      @termitreter6545 2 роки тому +22

      @@libertyprime7911 That doesnt really compare; in tjhe novel, voting rights (and potentially other privileges) are connected to the service.
      Otherwise, a dual service model isnt special. Germany was the same; until a few years ago, service was mandatory, but you also could go for a civil service alternative for a year as an alternative.

    • @LordoftheFleas
      @LordoftheFleas 2 роки тому +34

      I got the same from the novel: the only requirement was that you actually risked your life during your service (as that proved you were willing to risk your life for society).

    • @Paladinbr
      @Paladinbr 2 роки тому +42

      Exactly.
      The only way to be unfit for service was to have a mental condition that prevented you from being able to understand the meaning of the oath of service.

    • @unyieldingmonotony4453
      @unyieldingmonotony4453 2 роки тому +57

      I truly believe that voting rights should need to be earned. The one unchangeable stipulation being that anyone regardless of circumstance has a path to earn them.

  • @MickyMarineCorps1232
    @MickyMarineCorps1232 6 місяців тому +3

    4 years was the standard single enlistment during the 00's and 10's. (Marine Corps) only specialized MOS's had longer terms due to the extended training required for them. I do agree with the movie on one thing, you shouldn't be able to send people to war if you've never served.